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Tuesday, December 02, 2014

Tuesday's Overlooked Movies: Burlesque

(This post originally appeared on April 3, 2011)I’m no longer surprised when I wind up liking a movie that most of the critics hated. Such is the case with BURLESQUE. I’m not a big fan of musicals where the characters sing when there’s no good reason. But in a movie like this where the story centers around performing to start with, I don’t mind it. Still, I didn’t have huge high hopes for BURLESQUE or anything like that. Not a big fan of Cher or Christina Aguilera, either, although I don’t dislike either of them.

Somehow, though, this one really worked for me. I suspect it’s because despite the bared skin and the cussin’, at heart BURLESQUE is a 1930s backstage melodrama. Line after line of dialogue sounds like it ought to be delivered in black-and-white. And you know me, I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff. Plus the performances are okay (Stanley Tucci is excellent as always), the music and the dancing are entertaining, and the movie looks great. But Kristen Bell as a brunette? Nah, doesn’t work for me.

That’s my only quibble, though. I just thought BURLESQUE was a lot of fun in a determinedly old-fashioned way.